Once Upon A Time
by reppad98
Summary: Unconnected PokeShipping drabbles. My entry for The Legend of Chocolate's challenge The OTP Week Challenge on the Pokémon Fanfiction Challenges forum. Chapter 7: "Misty drifts away, and Ash brings her back."
1. Snowflakes

**A/N:** Thanks for clicking on this story, please enjoy! This is my entry for The Legend of Chocolate's challenge The OTP Week Challenge on the Pokémon Fanfiction Challenges forum. My prompt was _love_, and the theme was _winter_.

**Disclaimer: I don't own Pokémon.**

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**Once Upon A Time**

**Snowflakes**

_Girls want to hear they're loved. Tell them you love them as many times as you can. _

It had been an advice from both Brock and Dawn, and even though Ash knew Brock had about as much experience with girls as he had, he tended to believe Dawn when it came to this subject.

Point was, he wasn't good with words, or with romance. He'd always rather show his feelings, instead of telling them. They had been together for so long, and never, ever had he been able to force those three words out of his throat. But if she really needed to hear it…

Ash smiled a bit as he saw her twirling around in the snow, her short red hair standing out against the fresh white snow. Misty was talking to him, but he wasn't listening, not really. Instead, his thoughts were still on how he was supposed to tell her. He knew he _had _to tell her, but he didn't know how. Maybe he first needed to do something romantic, take her out on a date, sing her a song or- or write her a love poem, something crazy like that. Or maybe-

_Splash!_ A wet, cold snowball hit him in the face, thrown by his 'lovely' girlfriend.

"What was that for?" Ash spluttered, wiping the snow of his face.

"For not listening to me!" Misty told him, stamping with her foot on the ground, but a playful smirk visible on her face.

"I- I was," Ash disagreed, his usual stubbornness getting the best of him. "You were talking about- about, uh…"

She crossed her arms, looking at him expectantly and slightly mockingly.

"Okay, fine, I wasn't listening," the boy finally admitted.

The redhead smiled in victory. "What were you thinking about then?"

Ash took a deep breath. This was the perfect opportunity. He would tell her now.

Now.

This very moment.

Or now. Or maybe- _Stop procrastinating!_ Ash told himself sternly.

"Just… nothing," he finally replied, feeling his courage slip away.

"Yeah, you tend to think of nothing." Misty laughed.

"Hey!"

"C'mon Ash, let's go back inside, I bet your mother is waiting for us," the girl said. After a moment she added, "With hot chocolate, probably."

Her cold fingers wrapped around his, pulling him back towards the house, and when he saw her cerulean eyes sparkle at him in a way only her eyes could, Ash realized that he didn't need to tell her.

She already knew.

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**A/N:** I hope you enjoyed it, thank you very much for reading! Please leave me a review!  
Thanks again!


	2. Budding

**A/N:** Thanks for all the support, I really appreciate it :) Hope you enjoy! My prompt was _idiot_, and my theme was _spring_.

To _JilyEvotter19_: Thank you, I appreciate it very much.

To _Reshi54Rom_: Thank you very much! I'm glad you liked it :) You have don't have PM's enabled, which is why I thank you like this, but this way works too. Thanks again!

**Disclaimer: I don't own Pokémon.**

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**Once Upon A Time**

**Budding**

It was a beautiful, beautiful spring day. Everything was green and the Bird Pokémon were happily singing their songs. The sky was a clear blue and the sun was shining; shining down on a lonely figure sitting on a green park bench.

An idiot.

That was what he was, and the boy concerned knew it very well. How could he have been so stupid? How could he have _not_ seen it? How, in the name of Arceus, could he have been such an idiot?

Ash clenched and unclenched his fists, gritting his teeth. He was hurt, frustrated and sad, but mostly angry – angry at himself, for being so blind and oblivious. For being such an idiot.

It had hurt when Misty had told him she was dating Gary. At first he didn't know why it hurt; his rivalry with Gary was long over, he was actually a pretty nice guy and Misty seemed to be truly happy. So why did it hurt?

It had been Brock who had gently pointed out the truth to him: jealousy. Ash Ketchum was _jealous_ because Gary Oak had stolen his girl away. _His girl_.

Ash shook his head – Misty wasn't his girl. Never had been, and now never would be either.

If only he had been able to see the truth earlier, but no, every other feeling for Misty other than platonic friendship had been discarded by him as hormones, as nothing more than normal guy impulses. With a stubbornness that could equal Misty's he had been denying every possibility that he had fallen for his best friend.

And to make matters even worse, Brock had also slipped up a bit and accidently told him Misty had been pining after him for years.

Misty. Pining after _him_. For _years_! And he had been too blind to see that, travelling from one region to the other, having adventures and meeting new people, leaving her all alone in Cerulean City.

Now he thought about it, it was a wonder she didn't actually hate him yet.

With a sigh, Ash let his head fall in his hands. He had messed up big time, he knew that. He was an idiot, he knew that too.

A huge, oblivious, stupid _idiot_.

But when Misty's voice was heard through the forest, calling his name, he wondered if maybe, just maybe, there was still some hope for him.

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**A/N:** Thanks for reading, I hope you enjoyed it! Please review!  
Thanks again!


	3. Drops

**A/N:** Thanks for the support, please enjoy! My prompt was _idiosyncrasy_ and the theme was _mist_.

To _Silver_: Thanks for reviewing and the compliment :)

To _JilyEvotter19_: Thank you! And yes, I totally agree with you.

**Disclaimer: I don't own Pokémon.**

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**Once Upon A Time**

**Drops**

The fresh morning air filled the lungs of the redheaded girl walking through the forest. She was all alone and seemed lost – but nothing was less true, as she knew exactly where she was going; she walked this same route each morning.

It was early in the morning, nature slowly starting to awake and on the horizon the dark blue of the night was chased away by the light of the rising sun. Mist was hanging in the air, giving the forest a magical appearance.

Misty loved being here – it was something her sisters called weird, for getting up so early just to walk in a cold, rainy forest. Daisy had even called it an idiosyncrasy. Most difficult word she had ever heard her using, Misty remembered with a grin.

The girl didn't mind being called weird, or getting up early; this usual walk in the forest calmed her and reminded her of happier times. Not that she wasn't happy now, but here in the forest she felt like she was travelling again, on her Pokémon journey with her best friend Ash.

_Oh Ash…_ Misty let out a soft sigh as she remembered the raven-haired boy. He had been her first real friend, and as so many girls that age, she couldn't help but crush a little on him.

But in some weird way, the crush hadn't gone away after he had left, like she had expected. Because every time she thought of him, she would still get a fluttery feeling in her stomach, and a huge grin would still form on her face.

The girl shook her head sadly as she ended her morning walk. He probably had already forgotten about her, with all those new people and adventures.

Maybe she should forget about him as well…

A silent tear fell on the ground.

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**A/N:** Thank you for reading! I hope you enjoyed it. Please review!  
Thanks again!


	4. Sunshine

**A/N:** Thanks you! Enjoy the next chapter. My prompt was _teacher_ and the theme was _summer_.

To _JilyEvotter19_: Thanks for the review! And it was so sad, I know… Therefore, a fluffy one this time :) Hope you like it!

**Disclaimer: I don't own Pokémon.**

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**Once Upon A Time**

**Sunshine**

"I don't get it! Why aren't they biting?" a raven-haired boy complained, sitting cross-legged on a grassy shore.

"Be patient Ash, we've been only sitting here for fifteen minutes," a girl with short, red hair told him.

"But fishing is boring…" Ash complained, and Misty refrained from commenting as she laid back on the grass and closed her eyes.

It was a warm summer day, too hot to_ really_ do anything, but too cold to swim. Therefore, Misty had decided to play teacher and teach Ash how to fish. So far, it was going pretty good according to her. Okay, Ash was bored, but at least nothing had exploded yet.

"Hey, hey Mist, I think you got something! Look, look!" Ash sprung up enthusiastically, pointing at her rod.

The redhead immediately sat up, and grabbed her rod firmly. "Wow, it feels like a big one, I wonder wha-"

Disappointed she stopped talking, as she pulled a brown shoe out of the water. "It's a shoe…"

Ash burst out laughing. "A shoe! You caught a shoe!"

"Shut it Ketchum," the girl grumbled, throwing the shoe back in the water.

"Aww, you a bit touchy, Misty?" he teased her, still laughing. Then he started in a high voice, imitating Misty, "Oh, it feels like big one!"

"That's it Ketchum!" She jumped up, and after a rough push, the boy landed in the water.

"Oh, now you asked for it." Ash grinned threateningly at her, and easily pulled her with him in the water.

Turned out it wasn't too cold for swimming.

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**A/N:** Thanks for reading! I hope you liked it, please review!  
Thanks again!


	5. Leaves

**A/N:** Thank you everyone! Here's the next chapter, I hope you like it. My prompt was _pink_ and the theme was _autumn_.

To _JilyEvotter19_: Thank you very much, I'm glad you liked it!

**Disclaimer: I don't own Pokémon.**

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**Once Upon A Time**

**Leaves**

"I like autumn, you know."

"Really? Why? It's grey and rainy and cold and you can't go outside except with an umbrella."

"It isn't grey, I mean, look around you Ash, all those leaves. They're red and orange and yellow, I love it. It's like the trees are on fire, it's beautiful."

"Mmm… And pink."

"Pink?"

"Yeah, pink."

"Pink leaves?"

"Yeah, pink leaves."

"Ash, pink leaves don't exist, not in autumn, and not in any other season!"

"Yes, they do!"

"No they don't!"

"Use your eyes Misty, there, a pink leaf!"

"…"

"Hah, told you so."

"A pink leaf… that's not possible. That can't be."

"Just admit it Mist, I was right, and you were wrong."

"It's not possible."

"I was right, I was right, I was right and you were _wrong_, hah!"

"Wait Ash, I don't think that's a leaf…"

"…Not a leaf?"

"It's moving…"

"It's…"

"Oh no…"

"…Run. Run, run, run!"

In the bushes, a pink Jigglypuff with a marker angrily puffed up, making an offended sound.

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**A/N:** Thanks for reading, I hope you liked it. Please tell me your thoughts in a review!  
Thanks again!


	6. Drips

**A/N:** Thank you so much for all the awesome support! I really appreciate it! Here's the next chapter, please enjoy! My prompt was _innocence_ and the theme was _rain_.

**Disclaimer: I don't own Pokémon.**

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**Once Upon A Time**

**Drips**

Rain trickled down the windows of the lab, while three people in the hall were taking off their wet jackets and complaining about their wet hair and clothes.

"I can't believe it just _had_ to start raining, _exactly_ on the moment we left," Ash said, "Just our luck."

Gary nodded, and Misty complained, "Ugh, now I'm all wet."

"That's what she said," the brown-haired boy said with a cheeky grin. A moment later that grin was replaced by a pained expression as Misty punched him on his arm.

"Ouch… that was unnecessary, you know," Gary said, "Jeez woman, you punch hard."

Satisfied, Misty crossed her arms. "That's what you get for making such a dirty joke."

Gary shook his head, smirking at her. "You guys feel like drinking something? I bet Gramps decided to seek cover for the rain somewhere, so it'll take some time before he gets here."

When assenting sounds came from the other two, Gary made his way over to the kitchen, while Ash and Misty went to the living room.

"Uh Mist," Ash started, "what exactly did Gary mean?"

"Hm," the redhead said distracted, "What? He said he was getting something to drink for us."

"Yeah, but before, with the…" Ash started to whisper, "'that's what she said'."

When Misty just blinked owlishly at him, he quickly added, "Please don't hit me!"

She did nothing of that sort, but just grinned. "You really don't know what it means?"

"No…" Ash said unsurely, quickly thinking back whether or not he had ever heard that saying before. "Should I know?"

Misty laughed, and put her arm around him. "No, no you shouldn't. It's not that important. But if you really want to know, you should ask Gary. Or Brock."

He looked at her, confused. "Why can't you just explain it?"

"Because I'm not planning on ruining your innocence by explaining Gary's dirty jokes," she said, still smiling.

"My innocence?"

"Yes, your-" They were interrupted by Gary coming in the living room, bringing them their drinks.

Later, when Misty was gone for a minute, Gary would snort in his coffee when Ash would pose a certain question concerning innocence and dirty jokes.

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**A/N:** Thank you for reading, I hope you liked it. Please review!  
Thanks again!


	7. Clouds

**A/N:** Thanks everyone! Now, please enjoy the last chapter! My prompt was _Dialogue – "You're not alone."_ and the theme was _drifting_.

To _JilyEvotter19_: Thank you for your review, I really appreciate it!

**Disclaimer: I don't own Pokémon.**

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**Once Upon A Time**

**Clouds**

Dead. Gone. Away forever.

Her sister. Her happy, cheerful, bouncy sister.

Oh Daisy.

It had been an accident. Just a normal car accident. But her sister was gone.

Misty had always been closer to Daisy than to her other two sisters. And now Daisy was gone, she felt so… lost.

When the news had arrived, Lily and Violet had started bawling their eyes out, but Misty had just stared at the wall. And after that, while her two older sisters were in an emotional mess, Misty continued with her normal life.

She stayed strong for her sisters, took care of everything, and bottled up her emotions. Locked them away, with the intention of never looking at them again.

Her life continued, but it was empty. _She_ was empty. Her body was still there, but Misty wasn't. She seemed be to be far away, drifting away from reality, from living, further and further away.

One day, Ash came to visit Misty. He sat down next to her, and together they sat, in silence.

"Misty," he whispered, "stop it, please. Please come back, we miss you."

When the girl didn't reply, Ash grabbed her hand. "You're not alone Misty."

She turned to look at him, and suddenly tears appeared in her eyes. With a sob, she broke down in the boy's arms, crying for the first time since her sister's death.

In the future, there would be another Daisy. A green eyed girl with her black hair in two pigtails, who would play with a Marill and a Pikachu, and her parents would watch her, hand in hand, with a smile on their faces.

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**A/N:** Thank you very much for reading, this chapter, and this whole story! I hope you liked it. This will be the last chapter of this story, as this was written for a _week _challenge. But if I decide to do that challenge again, with different prompts and themes of course, but with the same pairing, then this story might be continued. Anyway, please give me one last review!  
Thanks again!


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